Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

Hello, my first post here.
This is my first Harley, so I'm still getting used to it. Don't know what is normal, and what is not. ThingsI think aren't normal my dealership says are normal on Harley's. So...
I have an '07 FXDB with about 4k miles on it now. Was looking it over today, and noticed some wear on the rear sprocket. In my opinion it doesn't look good, but I don't know if this is normal, because this is my first belt drive bike. I haven't taken it down any dirt or gravel roads, haven't been caught out in the rain yet, and the belt tension doesn't look too tight, or too loose.
There is a lot of pitting in the sprocket as you can see. There is more pitting on one side of the sprocket than the other. The belt doesn't look bad, and has very little pitting. Is this normal, or something I should have checked out?
Thanks.

Note: Looking at the picture just now, I noticed that you can see the same wear pattern going around the sprocket on some deep pits.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4026/sprocketuo5.jpg

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

That , to me is not normal. I have 6 k on my bike and that area still looks new except for some black smearing that will wipe off. Looks more like corrosion than wear. Rode hard and put away wet.
Ron

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

It's definitely not corrosion, It's almost 1 year old, sits in the garage, and has onlygets wet when I wash it.Looks like pitting from sand, or small rocks to me (but I don't ride on sandy roads...that I know of). I ride it like i own it, not like I stole it. I have another bike for that.I bought it new, and it has never seen full throttle, and hasn't been anywhere near redline.
Last time I actually looked at it, it looked just like you described yours. A little black greasy stuff on it that wiped off.

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

What you have is called "Brinnelling"... The chrome outer surface that protects the soft inner core is flaking off due to road contamination and improper belt tension.....

Normally, this starts to occur at about 15k.... normal wear...

Take a look at the inside teeth of the belt... I'll bet that you have stuff imbedded in the belt that is promoting the wear....

Oh, BTW, welcome aboard... please take a moment to post an intro in the new members section...

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

I guess it might be crap from the winter season with them sanding the roads, and the roads aren't as clean asI think they are. Only thing I can think of.
When should I start to worry? Is it going to cause a problem the way it is now? Probably not covered under the warranty if I take it in, huh.

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

You should start to worry now... The chrome is already coming up.. .

It's only going to get worse....

You can always invest in a billet sprocket, pricey, but more durable...

As far as a warrentable issue, I dunno... That is really considered a wear item, like brakes, cables, tires....

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

Well crap. I hope I'm not putting a rear sprocket on every couple months. The sprocket looked fine 300 miles ago. Would really suck to put another one on just to look at it next month andsee the same thing. Oh well, what can you do.

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

sh^t mine looked like that 30k or more ago!!! and i gots 60k total now andthings still seem fine too me, put 100mi on a day, 4 days a week and its all good. i live in az and sand flies year round here, gettin a new belt soon but only cuz a rock took a half a lug off ever 7th lug on the belt. is it going to fail sum how??? or cause the belt to snap??? [>:]

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

I would take the bike to a different dealer and see what they say.Have the dealer(s) document the problem.
On the other hand ,your bike still has a warranty right?Keep the belt tension adjusted to spec and just ride it.If the pulley/belt is FUBAR towards the end of warrany,take it in.
Hopefully this issue wont be a "wear item".

RE: Normal wear for a rear sprocket?
 

I am no expert on this but just from your pics, it would seem as though the sprocket isn't lined up with the belt 100%. If you were standing behind the bike facing the front wheel, that rear sprocket would be off kilter. Now, the amount that it's off could be so small you would never ever notice it but it just makes sense to me that if one side of the sprocket is getting worn more than the other, it's an alignment problem. Kinda like what you would see on a tire.

As for the pitting, I have no idea. I have 21k on my bike and haven't checked. Now I have something to do tonight :)